In past issues I’ve
explained that in marketing all people really
care about are the benefits, the “what’s
in it for me?” factor. But prospective
customers don’t just want to know about
the benefits of your product or service –
they also want to know about the benefits of
buying from your company instead of your competitor.
They want to know “what’s so special
about you?”
Are you prepared to
answer that question?
Linda Coss
949-699-2749
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What
Sets You Apart from Your Competition? |
When
people are deciding whether or not they should
do business with you, there’s a good chance
they’re also evaluating your competitors’
offerings. Have you given them a good reason
to pick you?
The
All-Important Unique Selling Proposition
Your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP, is
what clearly answers the question, “Why
should I do business with you instead of your
competitors?” Often translated into a
tagline, the USP should be the basis for all
of your company’s marketing efforts. You’ve
got to let people know why your products or
services are the best choice.
Developing
Your USP
How do you determine your USP? Start by finding
important benefits that are unique to your product
or service. Try looking at. . .
-
A
Product Feature – This can
be anything about your product, service, or
service delivery. For example, Folgers coffee
is Mountain Grown. I think most coffee is
mountain grown, but they make it sound unique
and special.
-
An
Emotional Appeal – Perhaps
your USP can be based on an appeal to the
prospect’s emotions, such as love, humor,
or fear.
-
A
Possible Association – This
is the celebrity endorsement approach. Your
product is wonderful because so-and-so says
it’s wonderful.
Once you have
a good list of possibilities, pick one that
is unique (i.e. not being touted by your competitors),
believable, and a big advantage. Remember, this
should be something that can be used to motivate
people to make a purchase!
Using
Your USP
The final step is to boil it all down to one
clear and concise sentence and then integrate
it into all of your marketing materials. Remember,
if you can’t figure out what sets you
apart from your competition, your prospective
clients aren’t likely to see any reason
to do business with you either.
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| Customer
Spotlight: Moty Koppes |
Moty Koppes is
a personal life and career coach who works with
women professionals to remove limitations that
get in the way of success. There are quite a
few things that set Moty apart from her competitors,
but the most important are her methodology and
her background.
Moty likes to
say that she works "from the inside out."
This means that she works with her clients on
the "who" - who they are, their values,
dreams, and integrity - versus the "what"
- what is their business or career. Moty's unique
career, education and life experiences as a
life coach and former practicing psychologist/therapist
who speaks 8 languages and has lived and worked
in 16 countries bring an uncommon dimension
to her coaching methodology.
To take a look
at the website I wrote for Coach Moty, please
click here.
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2008 Linda Marienhoff Coss |
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About Linda |
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Linda Coss is a freelance marketing writer who helps businesses become more profitable by writing persuasive, targeted and effective messages for their brochures, websites, letters, ads, fliers, press releases, newsletters and other written materials.
Whether you need something written "from scratch" or want a professional to edit what you've created, Linda is your on-call marketing writer.
For more information
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